Queensland have all but secured the Under-19 National Championship following a 53-run win, including a bonus point, over the Northern Territory in their Round 6 T20 match.
After winning the toss and electing to bat Queensland posted an impressive total of 7-161 from their 20 overs, which was always going to be hard for the Northern Territory to chase down given Queensland’s strong bowling attack.
Queensland’s No. 3 batsman Nicholas Stevens (63) was the leading run-scorer for his side and was well supported by Sam Truloff (34). Joel Logan (3-34) was the pick of the Northern Territory bowlers, while the leading paceman for the tournament Matthew Hanna (2-24) added a few wickets to his tally.
Only one of the Northern Territory’s batsmen reached double figures in their innings, with Luke Robins (26) posting the highest score for his side. Opening bowler Mark Steketee (3-17) claimed impressive T20 figures, while Sam Gardiner (3-27) also claimed three wickets. The Northern Territory failed to reach the total set by Queensland and finished at 9-108 after their 20 overs.
The ACT secured a 40-run win over host state South Australia in their Round 6 encounter.
The ACT batted impressively to post a total of 3-164 in 20 overs, meaning South Australia would need to bat at eight an over to be in the hunt. The ACT’s Dean Solway posted an imposing 58 not out, while Kieran Gray (45) continued his form of the championship with an solid stint at the crease. The South Australian bowlers only managed to claim three wickets, with Kelvin Smith (1-12) returning the best figures.
South Australia struggled to maintain the required run rate before losing star batsmen Kelvin Smith (37) and Travis Head (0). Trent Badman (43) finished with the highest figures for South Australia, as they finished all out for 124 off 19 overs. Mark Solway (4-22) led the ACT bowling attack, while Luke Behrendorff (2-26) also finished with tidy figures.
New South Wales secured a two-wicket win over Western Australia in what was a thrilling conclusion to their T20 match.
Western Australia was sent in to bat and led by star batsman Cameron Bancroft (69) they posted a defendable total of 7-136 from their 20 overs. The New South Wales bowlers shared the load, with Matthew Foster, Josh Clarke, Daniel Sams, Shane Cassel and Arjun Bagga all claiming one wicket a piece each.
New South Wales had an even spread of contributors across their batting line-up in their chase. They finished at 8-139 in the 20th over in what was a close ending that saw them claim victory with just one ball to spare. Daniel Sams (27) and Sam Reading (20 not out) were instrumental in steering New South Wales to victory. Western Australian bowler Haydan Morton (2-14) returned incredible T20 bowling figures, followed closely by Liam O’Connor (2-15).
Victoria recorded a convincing five-wicket win over Tasmania in their Round 6 match.
Tasmania lost two early wickets and fell to 2-28 before steadying their innings to post 4-140 off their 20 overs. Sean Willis (38), Michael Jones (38 not out) and Harry Nichols (31) were the stand-out batsmen for Tasmania. Jack Paynter (2-15) and Ashton Agar (2-28) were the only two Victorian bowlers to claim wickets.
Despite losing their star batsman Meyrick Buchanan (7) early, Victoria were able to chase down Tasmania’s total on the back of some great batting performances from Sebastian Gotch (46) and Matthew Begbie (43). Harrison Allanby (2-14) returned impressive figures, while Marc Simonds (2-37) also claimed two wickets. Victoria reached 5-142 in the 17th over to claim victory.
MyCricket will host all scorecards and stats for both the Under-19 National Championship at the following link: http://mycricket.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/draw.aspx?entityid=16870&id=RVFIXTURE (Simply select the Championship of choice from the drop down menu. Results will be uploaded at the end of play each day).
